Gaphoecheop (Album of the Same Age Party)

This collection of writings and an illustration concerns the gathering of a fellowship of government officials held in 1640. The fellowship was organized by Han Hoe-il, the son of a renowned Confucian scholar-statesman of mid-Joseon named Han Jun-gyeom (1557-1627) and composed of twelve high-ranking government officials of the same age: Gang Seok-gi (Uuijeong, or Third State Councilor), Gim Yuk (Hojo Chamui, or Junior Minister of the Ministry of Finance), Gim Gwang-uk (Naju Moksa, or Governor of Naju), Yi Seong-sin (Yejo Chamui, or Junior Minister of the Ministry of Rites), Yi Gyeong (Saheonbu Jangnyeong, or Third Minister of the Office of the Inspector-General), Yun Gyeom-seon (Jangyewon Pangyeolsa, Chief of the Bureau of Slave Administration), Hwang Jip (Jeolla-do Byeongma Jeoldosa, or Provincial Military Commander of Jeolla-do), Yi Eon-cheok (Hamgyeongbuk-do Byeongma Jeoldosa, or Provincial Military Commander of Hamgyeongbuk-do), Gwon Ching (Seonggyungwan Jikgang, or Seonggyungwan Lecturer), and Yi Hu-jae (Sajaegam Cheomjeong, or Fourth Secretary of the Royal Household Services). The manuscript is accompanied by an illustration depicting five of the twelve members of the Gyeongjin Donggapgye, or the Fellowship of Men of the Same Age Born in the Gyeongjin Year, namely, Gang Seok-gi, Gim Yuk, Gim Gwang-uk, and Yi Seong-sin as well as Han Hoe-il himself.
In the foreground of the painting one more unidentified figure is depicted approaching the gathering venue on horseback. According to the preface written by Gang Seok-gi, the other seven members had not yet arrived, while a postscript reveals that four of them, Hwang Jip, Yi Eon-cheok, Gwon Ching and Yi Hu-jae, did not turn up at all. The book contains an introduction of the gathering written by Gim Yuk (1580-1658) and stamped with a seal of his courtesy name "Baekhu". The following century, both the manuscript and the portrait of Gim Yuk were sent to the royal court at the special request of King Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776) for a private view. The king even wrote poems about the book and the portrait.